What I Really Am
by surferchick55
Summary: Carlie Firedrake had it all.  She had the friends, a loving mom, and  she was the star of the quidditch team.  Everything seemed perfect in  her little world.  That is until a piece of paper sends her searching  for who she really is.
1. Who Am I?

Chapter One

Carlie Firedrake was a gifted American witch, with typical American interests. She loved rock and roll, aqua quidditch (a form of quidditch played in the water as well as the air,) and attended the Seaside Academy for Magical Learning. Her position of seeker on the Seaside aqua quidditch team is dearer to her than any of her possessions. In the past two years, she had built herself a reputation as the best seeker Seaside ever had by bringing them out of their eleven year losing streak, and never failing to catch a snitch in any match, win or lose.

Her obsession with music could be noted by anyone who had ever met her. She always had with her a magical sort of music player, which let you listen to any song you wanted. She also had more songs downloaded onto her school laptop (a requirement at seaside,) than any of her friends combined. Her stylish clothes, dark red hair, startling green eyes, and rebel personality made her one of the most liked and respected girls of her year. Her best friends Nikki Black and Andrea Heartford were more loyal and loving than anyone could ask for, supported Carlie weather she was right or wrong.

Yet, there was a way in which she was far more extraordinary than anyone knew. The first is that Carlie had an amazing gift for reading people's thoughts. She hadn't told anyone, except a few of her closest friends, but ever since she could remember she had always known things about people. In recent years she had progressed to seeing people's memories, as well as their thoughts. Sometimes she heard people's thoughts without even trying, particularly if they were angry or afraid. This made the truth of her identity all the more shocking. How it had been hidden from her all these years she never knew.

It was the summer after Carlie's second year at Seaside. The Firedrake house was in Santa Cruz, CA. It was near enough to the beach so that you could walk there, and Carlie had spent the majority of her time that summer surfing. You really couldn't live in Santa Cruz and not surf.

One hot day in early July, Carlie was cleaning out some papers out of her mom's filing cabinet. It was mostly old essays and report cards of Carlie's that were no longer needed. Why her mother wanted her to stay inside on a gloriously hot day like this she would never know. It was perfect weather for a little off shore qidditch practice, but her mom insisted that this was going to be a "mother daughter day." As Carlie was sorting out what could be thrown away and what had to stay, something about one of the many papers made her pause. It was a birth certificate, and it said "Alexandria Potter," and listed as the parents were, "Lily and James Potter."

It struck Carlie as odd that her mom would keep someone else's birth certificate in her house, particularly since Lily and James Potter were long dead. Carlie knew the story of the boy who lived as well as any other which or wizard, but as far as she knew, Harry Potter didn't have a sister. "Mom, what's this," Carlie called across her mom's room. Her mother looked over her shoulder, and froze. "That's….." she trailed off, at a loss for words. Carlie was getting a sinking feeling, the kind you get right before you open your exam scores at the end of the year.

"Mom, who is Alexandria?" she asked hesitantly. Her mother continued staring at her, her mouth open in shock as if someone had slapped her. Carlie decided that whatever this was, it was too important to leave the telling up to her mother. She slipped into the state of calm that let her read minds so easily. It didn't take long, her mother's emotional state made it simple to read her thoughts. "How can I tell her? What will she think of me for hiding her identity all these years? Oh Alex…" This confused Carlie even more. "Who is Alex, mom?" she repeated gently. Still nothing. It was as if her mother was unable to put into words what she wanted to say. "Mom?" That word seemed to break her trance. She looked up at Carlie with her pretty grey eyes and said, "I'm not your mother Alex." Her eyes started to well up with tears, but Carlie took little notice of the woman she once thought was her mother. The reality of who she was bore down on Carlie like the crushing weight of a wave after you wiped out.

She was not a Firedrake. She wasn't even Carlie, really. Her name was Alexandria Potter, and her parents had been dead for over a decade. And the woman standing before had hidden this from her. She had even changed her name so that no one could possibly guess who she was.

"Please try to understand," said Helen Firedrake desperately. "Your mother and I were good friends, even after I moved to California. When you and your brother were born, and they knew Voldemort was after you both, they sent you to me, asking me to keep you safe. I don't think they told anyone else about you, because they knew someone close to them was leaking information to Voldemort. When your brother somehow vanquished him, I didn't know what to do. There were many who believe that the dark lord was dead, but some thought that he would be back. I thought it would be best to let you decide what you wanted when the time came, so I have kept your parent's secret all these years, waiting for the right time to tell you. I'm sorry Alex."

Carlie had kept completely still through out the monologue. She was angrier at the woman than she had ever been at anyone in her life, but she knew that if she appeared upset then Mrs. Firedrake would anticipate her leaving. And she was leaving, no doubt about that. This was not her life, even if she had been happy here. Her real family was in Britain, and she intended to go there and find him. Her brother Harry would be having an unexpected visitor very soon. "So, I'm a twin? And my brother is in England, without the slightest hint that I even exist?" she asked quietly. She already knew the answer, but she had to play the part of a shocked kid for a little while longer.

"I suppose so," replied Helen Firedrake. "You have a right to be mad at me, I know, but I'm sorry, and you know the truth now." Her eyes searched Carlie's anticipating her next move. "I'm not mad," Carlie lied, "I just need a little time to think." Helen nodded her head in understanding. "If you want to talk about anything, just ask me," she said.

An hour later, Carlie was making sure she had packed everything she would need. It was times like these when her floppy black bag came in handy. It had an undetectable extension charm on it; Helen had given it to her as a present before her first year at Seaside. Most of her belonging were now in this bag, including most of her clothes, her school laptop, her music player, her favorite surfboard, her two best skateboards (which could also be used as hover boards when there weren't any muggles about), her guitar, the four way mirror she shared with her three friends, all her books (which included both muggle and magical novels,) her school things, her favorite pillow, and most importantly her nimbus two thousand water series.

Shelly, Carlie's otter, was looking at her curiously, probably wondering why Carlie hadn't let her out of her cage yet. "Well Shelly," said Carlie (she had decided to have everyone call her Carlie, as a memento of her Californian life,) "I'm packed. I can't believe I'm really doing this, but what choice have I got?" she took the little river otter out of her cage and stroked her sleek, glossy fur. She chittered in Carlie's ear, the way she always did when she knew her master was out of sorts. Carlie made sure that her wand was in her pocket, and as an after thought took her savings out of her sock drawer and tucked that in her pocket as well. Still holding Shelly, she lit a fire in her bedroom fireplace. She one last, long look around her room.

The pretty blue walls had been striped of their many posters, and it looked sadly bare. Would she ever see it again? She really didn't know. She grabbed a pinch of floo powder and tossed it into the fire. The flames turned green instantaneously. "Diagon Ally!" she shouted, and stepped into the whirling green flames, uncertain of what the future would bring.


	2. When Carlie meets Lupin

Chapter Two

Carlie had heard of Diagon Ally before, and expected that in was similar to Wizard's Warf in San Francisco, the only really reliable place in CA for magical supplies. The Warf wasn't actually a Warf, but a pier that stretches part way across the San Francisco Bay, with shops that sold everything from magical surfboards to potions supplies.

But Diagon Ally wasn't what Carlie had expected at all. She found all the shops rather old fashioned. The only wizard clothing store worth mentioning was Madam Malkin's, and even this disappointed Carlie, because it only sold robes of the most respectable sort. At the Warf, all the clothes stores sold fashionable muggle clothes as well, with a little magical touch to all of them. For instance, Carlie owned a pair of heels that could become flats or skater shoes if need be. The Quality Quidditch Supplies had not one water adapted broomstick, and there wasn't a magical skate shop anywhere.

The only highlight Carlie could find was Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which was crammed with every flavor of ice cream imaginable. After having a good look around, Carlie decided to find a place to stay that night. It turned out that there was only one inn, called the Leaky Cauldron. It was a little run down, but she supposed that since it also served as the entrance to Diagon Ally, it had to be, so the muggles wouldn't notice it.

As she walked, she had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. She told herself that she was just feeling nervous because she knew that Mrs. Firedrake was probably looking for her. Carlie walked up to the toothless bartender, booked a room for the night, and ordered lunch because it was about three in the afternoon and she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. As she sat down at a table, she realized that someone was watching her.

He was sitting at a table nearby drinking a butter beer, and watching her with a mixture of disbelief and sadness. He was about thirty, she supposed, with premature lines all over his face and grey streaks in his hair. She returned his stare, and raised her left eyebrow, as if to say "What are you looking at?" She clutched her wand in her cloak pocket, for once not entirely sure what to make of this person. Suddenly, the man seemed to come to a decision about something, he got up and walked over to Carlie's table, and sat down as if they were old acquaintances.

After a quick check of his emotions, Carlie knew that he intended her no harm. In fact, it almost seemed like he recognized her from somewhere. "Are you the ghost of Lily Potter?" he asked in a choked sort of voice. That was certainly the last thing Carlie had expected him to ask. "N-no," she stammered. "I'm her daughter."

This took the man by surprise. "Impossible. If Lily and James had another child I would know about it," in a disbelieving sort of voice. Carlie slowly drew her birth certificate out of her schoolbag. She thought it might come in handy for proving her identity to people. She passed it over to the man, and he just stared at it, for a long time. "So there were twins?" he said hoarsely. "Harry had a sister?" He seemed to be talking to himself now, and it made Carlie uneasy.

He looked up at her, and appeared rather distraught. "Your name is Alex, right?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light, without much success. "Please, don't call me that. My…. foster parents called me Carlie, and I'm kind of used to it," she replied. He seemed surprised that she wouldn't want to be called by her own first name, but he didn't object. "Alright, Carlie then. You've told me who you are, and I suppose it's only fair that I tell you my story. My name is Remus Lupin, and your father and I were friends in school, and naturally I knew your mother as well. You look extraordinarily like her, which is why I came over to talk to you in the first place."

As he spoke, Carlie saw flashes of memories from his school days. Most were of her father and a couple other people. Then the memories took an interesting turn. They revealed that Lupin was a werewolf, and that her father and his friends had all become animagi to keep Lupin company. Her father was a stag. Another was a rat. And yet another became a big black dog.

Now, werewolves did not alarm Carlie as much as they did most people. In her first year at Seaside, her best friend had been a girl named Allison. She had long blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, and a humble personality. As the year progressed, they couldn't help but notice that their friend disappeared once a month, and in no time they had figured out her secret. She was a werewolf.

Far from rejecting Allison, they had admired her even more for what she had to go through. By this time the wolvesbane potion had been invented, and so they were able to keep her company every month at the full moon. There was a wizard in Allison's home town named Brian Locksworthy, whose wife had been killed by the same werewolf that bit Allison. His daughter happened to be going to Seaside the very next year. Late one summer night Carlie had had a dream about Sitting with Allison on her front porch. Brian had walked up to them, taken Allison's wand from her, and killed her.

Carlie had woken up then, and forgotten what had happened in her dream, except that it had something to do with Allison. Two days later, Carlie had gotten a letter from Allison's mom. Allison was dead.

All the evidence pointed to Allison killing herself, because Brian had used her wand. And besides that, the courts didn't care very much that some werewolf had died. As far as they were concerned, if Brian Locksworthy had actually killed Allison, it was one less werewolf in the world, so why prosecute him?

For this reason, Carlie hated people who had prejudice against other people just because they were different. She decided to keep her knowledge of his condition secret for now, it might freak him out to think that she had read his mind, and seen his memories.

"Do you know where I can find my brother?" she asked. Lupin frowned. Actually I don't. No one does. There's a rumor that he's living with his muggle relatives, but no one knows where. I bet Dumbledore could tell you. In fact, I should probably take you to meet him; he'll need to know that you're going to Hogwarts. And then there's the matter of your foster parents. They'll want to know where you are, and that you got here safely. You will come with me willingly, won't you?" he asked.

"I suppose… if it'll help me find Harry then that's fine with me." Carlie stayed the night at The Leaky cauldron, in a small room that looked out over Diagon Ally. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what Professor Dumbledore would be like.

In the morning, Carlie went down to breakfast and found Lupin eating breakfast with a boy who was about her age, who looked a lot like him. The boy had almost shoulder length brown hair, and hazel eyes that were nearly (but not quite,) the same shade as Lupin's. Carlie ordered breakfast and sat down across from them. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully. "Good morning Carlie. This is my son Tim," said Lupin. "Hi," said Carlie with an encouraging smile, since Tom looked a little shy. Like Lupin, his robes were tattered and frayed. Suddenly Carlie was acutely aware that she was wearing new, brightly colored clothes that she'd bought in a little surf shop only last week. "Hullo," mumbled Tim. Carlie decided that the best thing to do was ignore his embarrassment (there wasn't anything wrong with frayed robes anyway,) and attacked her large pile of pancakes.

"Do you know how to fly a broomstick?" Lupin asked after they had all eaten. Carlie gave him her best "are you seriously asking that question" look in response. "Yes," was all she actually said, but the look was enough to make him ask, "You don't happen to play quidditch do you?" Which is exactly what Carlie had wanted. "Actually I play aqua quidditch, and I don't think I could live without it. You play in the air and the water, and the brooms have to be specially made to repel water. It's never really caught on anywhere except the states, or that's what I've heard anyway."

She was eager to go into a long description of techniques you used in the water versus what you used in the air, but Lupin interrupted. "What position do you play?" his voice was casual, as if it really didn't matter, but Carlie knew better. "Seeker," she replied. Lupin smiled and said "Your father was a seeker two, and you and your brother both seem to have inherited his talent."

At first Carlie was glad she would have someone close to her who understood quidditch like she did, and then a strange thought struck her. If her brother was seeker that meant there wouldn't be a position for her on the team. Assuming she could beat him at tryouts, which could go either way because as far as she knew they could be an equal match, she wasn't sure that replacing him on the quidditch team was the best way to start out. On the other hand, quidditch was her life. She couldn't imagine herself giving it up for anything.

It was good to be flying again. As far as Carlie was concerned, this was life at its best. The wind whipped her hair all around her face, but she didn't care. She was one with the broom. Nothing could out fly her, she was- "Carlie! Slow down!" Lupin called from some where behind her.

When Lupin and Tim caught up with her he said "You really are your father's daughter, even if you look like your mother." He sat in silence for a moment, and then threw an apple he had taken from his pocket down towards the ground. Carlie didn't have to ask why he did that, she just dived. Exhilaration set in as she dived ever lower, chasing the apple. She caught it with ease and flew back up to Lupin. She tossed him the apple and said, "Did you drop something?" with a wide grin. Tim just stared at her, awestruck. Carlie grinned at him too, and for the first time he smiled back.

A couple hours later, Carlie caught her first glimpse of Hogwarts. The castle was huge, with lots of towers and turrets, and majesty beyond anything at Seaside. It was breath taking. "Whoa," was all she could manage to say. "Yeah, it does that to most people," said Tim. In her amazement, Carlie didn't realize that that was the first time Tim had said more than two consecutive words to her.


	3. Hogwarts

Chapter Three

As soon as Carlie landed, Shelly jumped out of her bag and made a beeline for the lake. She had been going stir crazy ever since they had arrived in London, and was in need of a good swim. "What was that?" asked Tim in alarm. Carlie realized that she hadn't introduced her pet to her newfound friends. "That was Shelly, my otter. She doesn't like big cities much, I think London was driving her crazy," she said as she tucked her broom back into her bag. Tim stared in amazement. Yet another thing Carlie hadn't explained. "Undetectable extension charm," she said. "Just about everything I own is in this bag at the moment."

As they walked up the steps toward the castle entrance, the large double doors opened, and someone walked out. He was tall, with electric blue eyes, long silvery hair, and a matching beard. "I see Professor Lupin wasn't exaggerating when he said you look exactly like your mother, Carlie" the tall man said. He gave Carlie the impression of being terribly wise.

Assuming that he was the famed Hogwarts headmaster, Carlie replied "It's an honor to meet you Professor Dumbledore." She wanted to ask him why he had called Lupin "professor," but she stopped herself for two reasons. One was that it might seem rude to be so amazed that Lupin was a professor. Not that she really was, she just thought he would've mentioned it before. The other was that in all honesty, the answer in its self

was pretty clear.

"I have a great deal I wish to ask you, so if you would be so kind as to follow me to my office…." Carlie, Lupin, and Tim followed Dumbledore through a long series of hallways and corridors, until he came to a halt at a rather ugly looking gargoyle. "Bertie Bott's every flavor beans," Dumbledore said to the gargoyle. To Carlie and Tim's amazement, it swung open, revealing another corridor. They walked down to a door marked "Headmaster," and Dumbledore led the way in.

All around the office were the moving portraits of past headmasters. There was a large desk to the left, which held several peculiar instruments that Carlie had never seen before. "Please take a seat," said Dumbledore, cutting Carlie's inspection of the office short. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, and the three of them sat in chairs in front of the desk. It was a little intimidating.

"Now, your real name is Alexandria, but you prefer to be called Carlie, is that correct?" asked Dumbledore. "Yes," replied Carlie. "May I ask why?" She hesitated a little before answering. "My foster parents called me Carlie; I guess I'm just used to it." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, as if he didn't think she was telling the whole truth. In fact, Carlie herself wasn't sure why she preferred her fake name.

Dumbledore decided not to press the matter. "Do you know if your foster parents were connected to your real parents?" he asked instead. "My foster mom said she was friends with my mother at Hogwarts. Her name is Helen Firedrake; I don't know what her maiden name is. She met my foster dad after she moved to California, so I don't think he knew my real parents," she replied. Dumbledore nodded, as if remembering.

"As I take it, your foster parents don't know that you are here, is that right?" Carlie liked this interrogation less and less. "Yeah, I sort of left as soon as I could. Now that I look back on it I probably should've left a note or something," she said sheepishly. "In that case, we should owl them immediately. I'm sure they are worried about you." For one horrific moment, Carlie thought that he intended to send her back to California, but then, seeing her distress before she even said anything, Dumbledore said, "You are planning on staying here, correct?" Carlie nodded vigorously in relief. "I'm sure you foster parents will understand. I think it would be best if we both wrote to them. Now, there is one last piece of business to attend to," with that, Dumbledore pulled a large, torn old hat out from under his desk.

Carlie raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That's the sorting hat," supplied Lupin. "There are four houses at Hogwarts, and your house is like your family, in a way. The sorting hat picks your house, based on what kind of person you are." Lupin looked at Dumbledore and said, "I suppose it would be logical if we sorted both of them now?" Carlie looked at Tim in confusion. "Don't you go to Hogwarts already?" she asked. Tim blushed a little and said, "I was taught at home before, but since my dad took a teaching job here, I'll be here instead. I'm going to be a third year like you."

Carlie was about to ask why his mom didn't teach him, but Dumbledore said, "Which one of you would like to do first?" Carlie looked sideways at Tim, who shook his head. "Me, I suppose." She took the hat and placed it on her head. It slid down over her eyes, and a voice in her head said, "Ah, I remember sorting your brother. Hmm… lots of spirit, loyal, clever… and certainly brave. Better be GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted the last word for everyone in the room to hear. She took off the hat and passed it to Tim, eager to see what house he was in. She hoped he was a Gryffindor; it would be nice to have a friend to start off with besides her brother.

The hat flopped down over Tim's eyes. It seemed like forever, but finally the hat roared, "GRYFFINDOR!" Tim whipped off the hat, looking confused about something. Carlie didn't know why, Lupin was grinning ear to ear, happy for his son. Dumbledore however, seemed to understand him. Carlie couldn't help it, she had to know. Tentatively, she began prodding around in Tim's mind.

With ease, she found the memory of the hat. "Hmm… certainly clever. But a little shy for Gryffindor…" the hat began. "I want to be in Gryffindor," thought Tim firmly. More firmly than Carlie had ever heard him. "You'd do nicely in Slytherin, I can see that quite plainly. Or perhaps Ravenclaw…" the hat went on as if it hadn't heard him. Carlie could feel Tim's anger as if she were a part of him. "I WANT TO BE IN GRYFFINDOR!" he thought with all his might. "That is more like it," said the hat. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Carlie came back to herself, and realized two things at once. One was that Tim was a lot braver than he appeared on the outside; the hat had even made him prove it. The second, Dumbledore was staring at her with an odd expression on face. It was a look somewhere between awe and confusion. It made him look older somehow. "Carlie, what did you just do?"

"Crap, he knows," thought Carlie. Out loud she said "What do you mean?" Hopefully he would think nothing of her little space out. She was perfectly aware of the odd phased out expression that appeared on her face when she read minds. Sometimes she could keep her face normal, but she had gotten too caught up in Tim's memory to pay attention. "I think you know perfectly well what I mean," said Dumbledore sternly. Lupin and Tim looked confused.

Well, there went that plan. She knew it was best to just tell the truth, but she would hate for Tim and Lupin to think she'd been invading their privacy. Especially Tim, he was so shy to begin with… what if she lost him as a potential friend all together? "Um… could I talk to you in private?" she asked. This confused Tim and Lupin even more. "Tim, Professor Lupin, if you would be so kind as to wait outside?" asked Dumbledore.

When they were gone, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. His blue eyes seemed to pierce her very soul. Could Dumbledore read minds as well? Is that how he knew? "Ever since I can remember, I've been able to read people's emotions. As I got older, I could occasionally hear their thoughts. Recently, within the past year in fact, I have even seen people's memories. At first, I couldn't control it at all. I still can't, not very well at least." She paused for a moment, then in a rush she said, "Are you mad at me?"

Dumbledore considered her for a while before responding. "You certainly have a unique gift. I can see why you didn't want to talk about it in front of them. I am not mad, but I think you will need to learn proper control of your abilities. So you don't err…. Lose control again. And I think it would be proper for you to apologize to Tim. It was his mind you were reading if I'm not mistaken. You don't have to do it now, if you don't want to, but I think it would be best if you did." Carlie nodded and said "I will."

Dumbledore let Lupin and Tim back into the office. They both looked at her inquiringly but Dumbledore, bless him, acted as if nothing strange had happened. "Here is a sheet of the classes you can choose from. You may choose up to three. There are mandatory classes you will be taking as well. Why don't we all go have lunch in the Great Hall while you think it over? Then perhaps you should think about writing your foster parents. Tonight you will two stay in the Gryffindor dormitory, and in the morning, we can think about arrangements for Carlie to meet Harry."

If Carlie had to pick her favorite thing about Hogwarts so far, it would be a tie between the grounds and the food. The Great Hall in its self was amazing, with its enchanted ceiling that made it look like you were eating outdoors. But the food was indescribable. All of it was delicious, but there was such a variety of foods; rich puddings, humungo sandwiches, and pumpkin juice, which Carlie had never tasted before, but discovered that she liked.

As she was eating she looked carefully at the list of electives. She knew she wanted Care of Magical creatures; she was a sucker for animals. Arithmancy sounded like a fun sort of challenge, so she checked off that one as well. As for her third class, she had no clue. She knew she didn't want divination. Ancient runes sounded dull. Well, Dumbledore said she only had to pick two, and three was just a maximum. She really didn't want to stress herself out to much either.

After she handed in her elective sheet to Professor McGonagall, who Carlie thought was a tad too old fashioned, she want down to the lake with some parchment, to write home.

She wrote one to her foster mother, witch was rather short and to the point, and one to her best friend Nikki, which described how cool Hogwarts was, and asked her to tell the others that she had heard from her. Feeling rather drained, she sat there for a while, stroking Shelly's fur.

Suddenly, Tim was sitting down next to her. "Hi," she said cheerfully. "Hullo," he responded. Carlie decided that it was now or never. "The reason I wanted to talk to Dumbledore in private was that I'm a mind reader." She spit the words out in a rush, and she was filled with dread as she waited for his response.

Tim sat in silence for a long time. Carlie didn't dare read his thoughts after what had happened earlier. "So you were reading my mind?" asked Tim. His voice wasn't exactly accusing, but all the same Carlie winced inside at the question. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I usually don't, its just I kind of… lose control of it sometimes. If a someone looks angry or sad, and I'm not paying close attention to what I'm doing, I just automatically… see it, I guess," she finished lamely.

She was worried that he'd think she was some kind of freak, or maybe even that she was lying. But he just nodded. Well, she had managed not to lose the one and only friend she had made in Britain. That was a start. Not a great start, but defiantly a start.

Unfortunately, something was nagging at the back of Carlie's mind. She had been trying (without much success,) to ignore it, having just avoided tragedy, but the thought persisted. So, as idiotic as it may seem, she asked the question that had been burning a hole in her head. "Tim, since I told you my secret, could I ask you something?" He looked at her with his lovely hazel orbs, and said, "Sure." Carlie took a deep breath, and said "Why doesn't your mom just teach you at home, if your parents wanted to home school you?"

A/N: I know that seems like a dumb question, but you will see in ch 4 how important it is! keep reading, and please review!


	4. Teardrops and Secrets

Chapter Four

"My mom…. died right after I was born" Tim trailed off. "Why do I have to know these things?" thought Carlie. The question had been burning inside her because she knew, deep down in her subconscious mind, that there was a story behind something so seemingly innocent. It had happened to her before, and she had just fallen into the same trap again.

"I'm sorry," said Carlie. Tim smiled at her, a sad little smile that held all the pain and suffering in the world behind it. "I grew up with parents who loved me, but now that I know they're not really who I thought they were…" it was Carlie's turn to trail off, realizing that she actually didn't know how to finish that sentence. She didn't hate them, she understood why they had hidden her identity from her, but at the same time, she didn't know if she ever wanted to see her foster parents again.

The two people she really wanted to see were long gone. Somehow, finding Harry had possessed all of her attention until now. But all of the sudden, images of her foster parents, happy, laughing, and watching her grow from the time she was very young, flashed before her eyes. The realization that she would never truly have that again dawned upon her. A flood of tears suddenly sprang to her eyes.

She tried to stop them, she really did. Things were bad enough already and she didn't want to seem like a crybaby in front of Tim, to cap of the day's portion of embarrassments. To her surprise, Tim didn't try to say anything to comfort her. She supposed that he knew there was nothing he could say. Instead, he hugged her. Carlie let the tears fall freely, taking some small comfort in the fact that someone knew what she was going through.

When the tears subsided, she pulled away from Tim, and they both sat in silence for a while. "Thanks," Carlie said suddenly. "For what?" asked Tim, "I really didn't do much." She smiled warmly at him. "For just being here," she replied.

They walked back up to the castle, because by now it was getting late, and both of them were hungry. At the staff table, Dumbledore told Carlie that he had made arrangements with the Dursleys (Carlie and Harry's aunt and uncle,) for her to stay with them for the rest of the summer. Lupin and Tim would take her there tomorrow on their way home. Carlie was finally going to meet her brother. It almost made her forget the events of that afternoon.

Carlie and Tim were allowed to sleep in the Heads Dorm that night. Usually just the Head boy and girl slept in there, but since the term hadn't started, no one could have any objection. The bathroom in the dorm was huge, and there were a million different knobs on the swimming pool sized bathtub. Carlie tested the different knobs, smelling the different soapy aromas that came out of each one. On no time the tub was full. After making sure the bathroom door was locked, (Carlie really couldn't handle much more embarrassment today) she sunk down into the hot, refreshing water. She swam around, relaxing after the hectic nature of the past couple of days.

When she was done, she part way dried her hair (she always liked to go to bed with her hair slightly damp,) and slipped into her pajamas. She wore an old Rolling Stones t-shirt and a pair of plaid pajama bottoms. She stepped back into the head's dorm, and sat down on her bunk. Tim was reading a huge book that didn't have the title on the outer cover. Carlie dug through her bag until she found her favorite guitar and a pick, and began absentmindedly strumming.

Tim looked up as soon as the first note slipped through the dorm. He watched her, entranced, for a while. Carlie, oblivious for once to what the people near her were doing, played on. She kept going for a long time, and she couldn't have told you exactly what she was playing, she was making it up as she went along. It was a sad sort of melody, with a strain of hope there as well, in the background.

Suddenly, as if waking from a dream, Carlie looked up from her guitar, and saw Tim. "Where did you learn that?" he asked. Carlie blushed at his amazement; she had never thought that she was particularly good at guitar. Which she wasn't, but anyone can sound beautiful when they are inspired.

Soon after that Carlie fell asleep. All too soon after that, she fell into the nightmare that had been haunting her for years. It started just like it always did, with Allison and Carlie sitting on Allison's front porch, stargazing and talking about plans for the next school year, as they often had that summer. Suddenly, Brian Locksworthy materialized behind them, a sneer on his ugly face as he gripped Allison's throat

As always, Carlie could do nothing to help, however much she tried. She watched helplessly as Brian forced Allison to give him her wand. He raised it above his head, and he screamed "Avada Kadavera!" at the same time, Allison screamed "CARLIE!"

She woke in a cold sweat, eyes wide with fear. After a moment she realized that Tim was standing over her, as well as Professor Lupin. She realized that it must have been Tim calling her name, because that had never happened in her dream before.

Are you okay?" asked Tim nervously. "Yeah, just a dream," she lied. It was so much more than a dream. Lupin looked at her skeptically, but all he said was, "Dumbledore wants to see you." "Now?" asked Carlie. "Yes, now" replied Lupin gravely.

Dumbledore gazed at Carlie from over his half moon spectacles, with pity in his eyes. Carlie was in Dumbledore's office, with Lupin and Tim. "Carlie," he said slowly, as if to a small child, "your brother is missing."

A/N: I know this is a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to get it up because I don't think the next chapter will be up for a while.


	5. The Twins Reunited

A/N: hello readers! First I would like to thank you for reading, and second, I would like to inform you all that my title has changed thanks to my awesome friends Sarah. It is was "Carlie Potter," and is now "What I Really Am." Enjoy, and remember, reviews are like chocolate to me, so give me lots!"

Carlie felt hollow. She had left everything she knew behind for a brother she didn't even know. And now he was missing. She might never even meet him… the last bit of her broken family, disappearing without a trace… "Carlie?" she looked up suddenly. Dumbledore had been speaking to her, but she had been lost in her thoughts. He seemed to understand what was running through her mind, and his expression softened. "The whole ministry is out looking for him, he'll be alright." These words would have soothed Carlie, had she not caught a worried glance between Lupin and Dumbledore.

"You're not telling me everything," she said quietly. Lupin looked surprised that she could pick up so easily on things. However, Dumbledore and Tim were not in the least fazed by this development. They knew her secret, and it wasn't at all astonishing to them that she had plainly seen that something was being hidden from her.

"Carlie," it was Lupin who spoke first. He knew he had to be the one to tell her. "Do you know who Sirius Black is?" Carlie stared at him for a moment, unsure what this had to do with her brother, then said, "Yeah, he murdered a street full of muggles and got sent to Azkaban, right?" Lupin nodded and went on. "He escaped from prison a couple weeks ago. He was one of Voldemort's biggest supporters, and since your brother was responsible for his demise…" he trailed off. It seemed to be a painful subject for him.

At the same time as worrying about her brother, all alone and unaware that there was a mass murderer after him, she knew she was still not being told the whole truth. She didn't want to torture Lupin by making him relive whatever was that tormented him so much. But she had to know.

"You're still not telling me everything," she whispered. Lupin went even paler than he already was. "How…" he started, but then shook his head, as if to say that he didn't want to know how she knew these things. "Sirius Black was your father's best friend. In fact, there were four of us who were close friends. Your father, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and me. James and Lily knew that their best chance to save Harry was a fideleus charm, and James insisted that Sirius should be their secret keeper. He thought that he would rather die than betray them."

Carlie shuddered and said "Thought?" Lupin was obviously having a hard time with going on, his eyes were bright, and she could see the pain in them as fresh as if it was from only yesterday. "Sirius betrayed your parents to Lord Voldemort. He came for them, and…" Carlie didn't have to hear anymore, she knew the story.

Carlie woke up the next morning with a sense of purpose. She was going to find her brother, whatever it took. If that meant she had to run away from Hogwarts, so be it. She wasn't giving up without a fight. She pulled on a pair of plaid green and black capris, pulled a black tank top over her head, and put her hair up in a messy bun before going down to breakfast.

"Hey Carlie, guess what?" called Tim happily. "What?" she replied groggily. "They found Harry last night!" he said, obviously delighted to be delivering the good news. "Really?" she asked, turning to Dumbledore. He nodded and said, "Your brother is staying at the Leaky cauldron, and I have arranged for Tom the bartender to watch over you both for the remainder of the summer. Your foster parents replied last night, saying that they accepted the fact that it is really your choice, not theirs. Lupin will be taking you to Diagon Ally on their way home." Carlie couldn't have been happier.

At the Leaky Cauldron, Carlie gave Tim and Lupin an awkward hug goodbye, after Lupin made sure that Carlie had a room, and Tom knew who she was. Tim gave her a sheepish little smile and said, "I'll see you on the train to Hogwarts." Carlie grinned back and said, "I'll be sure to look for you."

Tom told her that Harry had left his room a while ago, and she'd have to go find him. So, after dumping out some of the contents of her schoolbag out in her room to make it lighter, she went in search of Harry.

It didn't take her long to find him. He was across the street at an ice cream shop, writing an essay. She knew him because he looked exactly like the man from Lupin's memories, except he had their mother's eyes. And of course, when she got closer she could see the famed lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

She suddenly realized that she had no clue what to say to him. Maybe it would be best to just "Bump into him," and make friends with him first. She watched him for a while, and when he got up she walked across the street, and deliberately knocked into him, causing his books to fly out of his arms and her bag to fly off her shoulder, its contents spilling everywhere. Carlie and Harry had both fallen over, and they both immediately stated gathering up their stuff. "Sorry," she said. He looked up and said, "S'all right."

When they had both made sure they had all their things, Carlie held out her hand. "Carlie Firedrake, first class klutz at your service," she said jokingly. Harry laughed and said shook her hand, saying "Harry Potter."

And, the moment she had been dreading, awkward silence. "I'm starting at Hogwarts as a third year," she blurted. She couldn't think of anything else to say. "So you're a transfer student?" he asked, looking mildly interested. "Yeah, I guess. My mom wants me to go to Hogwarts, and since we have family here she insisted that I transfer." It wasn't a complete lie. Her mother would've wanted her to go to her old school, she was sure. And she certainly did have family here in England. She was staring him in the face, but he didn't need to know that.

"Do you know what house you're in yet?" he asked. "Gryffindor," she replied, realizing that she had found the common ground she needed. "Me too, I'll see you on the train. Bye." Then he left.

She couldn't believe it. He just left her there standing in the middle of the sidewalk… _Get a grip Carlie. It's not like he knows that you are his sister. People just don't stand talk to complete strangers like they were old friends. Give it a little time, _she thought to herself.

She returned to her room in the Leaky Cauldron and retrieved her music player from the pile of junk she had dumped out of her bag. She absentmindedly flicked through songs until she landed on one of her all time favorites. "When I was, a young boy, my father took me into the city…" As she listened, she thought about how she would "bump into" her brother again the next day. Perhaps she could just sit down next to him in the ice cream parlor, and just talk about random stuff. "Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me…."

She always found music so refreshing. It really didn't matter if it was rock, metal, or pop to her, just as long as she had a good song to listen to, she was fine. "And other times I feel like I should go….." KNOCK KNOCK! Some one was pounding on the door of her room. Carlie turned off the music player, and opened her door.

There, standing before her, was her brother, looking very… she couldn't even begin to describe the mixture of confusion, surprise, and anger on Harry's face.

"Tom said the strangest thing to me **Alex**," he said, not even bothering to say hello. _Well, there goes the 'wait until we've gotten to know each other' theory, _thought Carlie. "Look, I wanted to tell you but honestly, what would you have done if I just walked up to you and said I was your sister?" she said testily. "And please call me Carlie. I was always called that before I knew who I was, and I'm just more used to it," she said before he could even respond.

"Fine, Carlie then. I admit I wouldn't have believed you at first," he conceded. She smiled and said, "Come in," gesturing at the room behind her. "We have a lot to catch up on."


	6. Losing her Temper

Chapter Six

As Carlie lay in bed on the second to last day of summer, listening to music as usual, she thought about how well she had gotten to know her brother over the past couple of weeks.

For the first couple of days they had mostly just talked. About music, about where they grew up, everything. They had both marveled when they realized how different their little worlds had been up till a few days ago.

For example, Harry had spent most of his childhood in a cramped cupboard, whereas Carlie had spent her childhood anywhere she wanted to be within the confines of the nearest beach and downtown Capitola. (She lived only a couple blocks away.) Harry was fascinated with the idea of surfing, and insisted that she would have to teach him sometime.

And so it went on, for at least a week. Then there was quidditch. Carlie was pretty sure that Harry had not yet realized exactly what both of them being seekers meant.

She had thought long and hard about it. As much as she wanted her brother to be happy, she could not, would not, give up quidditch. It was her life, her very heart and soul. She had given up a lot for her brother, but this was where she drew the line.

Unfortunately, more trouble was ahead for Carlie than she thought.

Harry and Carlie were outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Harry was adoring the newest and coolest broom, the Firebolt. Carlie, for the millionth time, rolled her eyes. She simply could not grasp why you would want a broom that couldn't dive under water.

"HARRY!" cried a pair of voices from behind them.

The owners of the voices were a tall flaming red headed guy, and shorter girl with mousey brown hair, both of whom were about Carlie and Harry's age. She could only assume that this was the famous Ron and Hermione, who she had heard just about everything about.

Harry hugged them both, and turned back to Carlie. "Carlie, these are my best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," what a shock, she had been right. "Ron and Hermione, this is my twin Carlie." She held out her hand, "I've heard a lot about both of you," she said while shaking their hands.

Hermione frowned a bit. "I thought your name was Alex," she said. She shouldn't have gone there, and Harry knew it. "Technically speaking, it is," she said waspishly. "But no one calls me that. How does everyone know my name anyway?"

Hermione looked a bit taken aback. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll remember that. Ron's dad works at the Ministry, and Dumbledore informed them about you a while ago," she said uncertainly. She looked as if she wanted to ask why she didn't want to be called by her own name, but common sense got the better of her. Ron on the other hand….

"Why don't you want to be called by your real name?" Carlie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Does it matter?" Ron wisely shut up.

"Who wants ice cream?" asked Harry nervously.

Minutes later they were all seated outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Carlie was enjoying her java chip ice cream while listening to the old friends catch up. Even though Harry had only known her for a short time, he knew that ice cream lightened his sister's mood.

"Harry, did you really blow up your aunt?" asked Hermione with concern. "Not on purpose," Harry mumbled, while Ron rocked with silent laughter. Carlie couldn't suppress a smile. "It's not funny Ron, Harry could've been expelled," Hermione snapped.

Carlie couldn't help her self. Without thinking she said, "Actually, I would've ended up doing the same thing."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Carlie. "And risk getting expelled?"

"You should hear the things that arrogant pig was saying about our parents," she said coldly.

"You'd rather get revenge on some idiot who doesn't even know you, and risk your place in the wizarding world, than just ignore it?" Hermione snapped back.

"It's not a matter of if I want to. Sometimes things anger you, and you lose control. It's not like it happens everyday."

"That means a lot from someone who left home without telling anyone where she was going, and without even thinking about the consequences," said Hermione.

Carlie stood up, glaring with hatred. "What did you just say?" she hissed.

Hermione looked as if she regretted what she had said. "I just meant that maybe, I mean, well-"

"And what would you have done? Would you have sat at home waiting for your foster parents, who told you nothing but lies in all your life, to decide what to do with you, like some goodie two shoes? Knowing that somewhere out there is the one bit of real family you have left? I think not, so stop acting like I'm some kind of senseless child" said Carlie, still standing.

She had not yelled, or even raised her voice. But the venom and anger behind her words was enough to leave the entire group speechless, staring at her in disbelief.

Carlie plunked back down, and started mutilating the remains of her ice cream. _So much for trying to lighten the mood, _she thought.

But Hermione had crossed a line. How would she know what it felt like to have your family criticized right in front of her face? Particularly family who was not present to defend themselves, and never would be.

All the same, she had to make an effort towards befriending Hermione. She owed Harry that much.

"Sorry," she mumbled. The whole group was still gaping at her in stunned silence.

"No," said Hermione softly. "It was mostly my fault, I shouldn't have said that."

A short time later the four of them walked across the street to the Magical Menagerie, to get Hermione a pet because her parents had given her money for an early birthday present.

Carlie was explaining aqua quidditch tactics to Ron, trying to act as if she hadn't been insane with anger just ten minutes before. Ron was listening with rapt attention, fascinated with the idea of under water quidditch.

Hermione, on the other hand, looked exasperated that when she had finally found a potential female friend (that is if Carlie hadn't already decided not to like her), she turned out to be a bigger quidditch freak that Harry and Ron. Combined. Which is defiantly saying something.

After something of a fiasco, Ron had tonic for Scabbers the rat (who had been looking under the weather,) and Hermione had a huge orange cat named Crookshanks.

Then they returned to the Leaky Cauldron, where Carlie was introduced to Mr. Weasley.

"Hullo Harry, good to see you!" he said brightly. When he spotted Carlie he added "And this must be Alexandria." Carlie held a hand to shake and said "Call me Carlie." Like everyone else she had met, he seemed a little confused by her insistence upon using another name, but he didn't say anything.

"So they haven't caught him yet?" asked Harry as he spotted a copy of the Daily Prophet with Sirius Black's picture on it.

Carlie's eyes widened as she saw the face of the man who had betrayed her parents. Nikki Black didn't look exactly like her father, but there was enough resemblance, even the crazed face of the criminal, to see that they were father and daughter.

It hadn't occurred to her that they might be related when Lupin had first told her about Sirius, but there was no denying it, their eyes were identical. Nikki had never been very open about who her real father was. Carlie wasn't even sure that Nikki knew who he was.

"Carlie are you ok?" asked Harry worriedly. "I'm fine," she said, though her voice shook. Even in her shock, Carlie had to wonder if her brother knew the whole story about why Black was sent to Azkaban. And if he didn't, should she tell him?

Carlie's thoughts were interrupted by a large group of redhead entering the Leaky Cauldron. She could only assume that they were the rest of the Weasleys.

Mrs. Weasley greeted Harry warmly, and turned to Carlie. "This would be Alex I presume?" The awkward introductions were growing tiresome for her. "Call me Carlie," she while putting on her best and sweetest smile.

One of the Weasleys, a rather tall and pompous looking one, asked "Shouldn't you be called by your proper name?" Carlie gritted her teeth, but was determined not to get off on the wrong foot with anyone else today. "I'm used to Carlie. Its what my foster parents called me," she said.

The boy frowned, but instead of pursuing the subject further, he said "I'm Percy Weasley; I'm the Hogwarts head boy." _More like bighead boy,_ Carlie thought mutinously, while shaking his hand. Suddenly, a pair of uncannily identical twins shoved Percy out of the way, and both of Carlie's hands up and down. "Fred and George Weasley, Hogwarts' leading pranksters," they said in unison.

Carlie couldn't help but laugh. They were so unlike their older brother. _And so very like Nikki, _said a small voice in the back of her head. Was this what Sirius Black had been like as well?

Soon they were all gathered around a table in the Leaky Cauldron, talking and catching up on each other's summers. Ron was telling Harry all about their trip to Egypt, and Carlie was swapping prank stories with the twins.

Just as Carlie was showing the them how she could twist pictures around on her laptop and make them in to funny shapes, Percy asked, "How are we getting to King's Cross tomorrow dad?"

"The Ministry is providing us with a couple of cars," replied Mr. Weasley. "Why is that dad?" asked Percy importantly. Carlie had to stop herself from rolling her eyes every time he spoke. "It's because of you Perce," said George.

"Yeah and the cars will have little flags on them that say HB" said Fred catching on. "For Humongous Bighead," finished George. Everyone but Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding. "Why is the ministry sending cars?" Percy inquired again, ignoring his brothers.

"Well seeing as we don't have one, and I work at the Ministry, they're doing me a favor," said Mr. Weasley in a would be casual voice. He was lying. Carlie didn't even have to read his mind to know that, his ears were turning red. And she could guess what the real reason was. Sirius Black.

The next morning flashed by in a blur. Percy was accusing Ron of stealing his head boy badge, when in actuality the twins had stolen it and changes the words to "Bighead Boy."

Carlie was frantically making sure that she had all her new school stuff, and making sure that most of it was in her school trunk, because carrying around her heavy black shoulder bag had gotten annoying.

She was only satisfied when all that was left in her shoulder bag was her Hogwarts school robes, her surfboard, her acoustic guitar, her electric guitar, and her posters. Which was still a lot, but it was much lighter than before, and she refused to take the chance of her guitars or her surfboard getting damaged.

After crossing the border onto platform nine and three quarters, everyone received a big hug from Mrs. Weasley, even Harry and Carlie. She had just spotted Tim and Lupin coming through the border, and was about to go say hello, When Mr. Weasley pulled both Carlie and her twin aside.

A/N: I wanted to make it longer, but then you poor people would've been waiting forever, so I decided to post this. It's longer than usual anyway. And if you don't remember Carlie's best friend being named Nikki Black, go back to the first chapter, its there. Hope you like, please R&R


	7. A Fight and a Pleasant Surprise

A/N: hello people, sorry for the wait school has been insane… and I really wanted this chapter to be good, I've been playing it over and over in my head making sure that it's the way I want it. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R!!

Also, sorry I have been forgetting 2 do these!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Hogwarts, those are J K Rowling's wonderful creations. However, Carlie, Nikki, and Tim are very much mine.

Chapter Seven

"Harry, Carlie, I want you both to listen very carefully to me," said Mr. Weasley in an undertone. "Sirius Black is after you, so I want you both to try to stay out of trouble." His face looked grave. "I know," said the twins simultaneously.

Carlie looked sideways at Harry, wondering what else he knew about Black. "I also want you to promise me that whatever you two might hear, you will not go looking for Black," Mr. Weasley added. Harry's confusion told Carlie in an instant that he didn't know that Black had betrayed their parents. "We promise," said Carlie hastily as the whistle blew.

"Arthur!" yelled Molly Weasley. Carlie and Harry hurried onto the train, and Mr. Weasley handed them up their luggage. As they shuffled down the isle, Carlie scouted around for Tim. She spotted him and Professor Lupin both asleep in an otherwise empty compartment.

It was a tight fit with six of them, but they managed. Carlie was sitting next to Tim, with Harry on her other side, and Hermione was sitting between Professor Lupin and Ron. "Tell me again why we're squished into a compartment with two sleeping people we don't know," said Ron grumpily.

"Two reasons. Everywhere else is full, and I promised Tim I'd meet him on the train," Carlie snapped. "He's asleep!" cried Ron. "So?" she said, raising her eyebrows. Ron shut up, finally seeing that the topic wasn't up for debate.

"I need to talk to you guys," said Harry. He went on to explain about Sirius Black. Ron and Hermione both looked worried. Carlie couldn't help but think of her best friend.

Suddenly, the realization that they all must be worried sick about her weighed down on her like a dark cloud, heavy with rain. She deeply regretted leaving without even saying goodbye to anyone. She had been cruel and rather thoughtless. All she had thought about was how her foster parents had betrayed her, and how the life she had lived wasn't really her life. How could she possibly make up for that now?

"Hogsmede ought to be fun," said Hermione, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Of course it will!" said Ron "Just thinking about the candy makes my mouth water…" Carlie rolled her eyes, while Harry looked glum.

"I suppose you guys will have fun," he said. "The Dursleys never signed my form, so I don't think I can go." Carlie hadn't had a form to begin with, so she probably wouldn't be going to Hogsmede either. "WHAT?" roared Ron. "You have to go to Hogsmede! McGonagall will understand…" Harry laughed bitterly. Even Carlie knew how strict Professor McGonagall was.

At that moment, both Shelly and Crookshanks burst out of the large basket they had been sharing, and leapt at Ron's pocket. Scabbers, who had been in the pocket a moment before, was now squealing and dashing across the compartment floor. "No!" yelled Ron, as he lunged for Scabbers.

Carlie tried desperately to get a hold of Shelly, but she was quick, and her glossy coat slipped through Carlie's fingers. Hermione managed to get a hold Crookshanks, who was still hissing and spitting even as she put him back in the whicker basket. After a whole lot of confusion, Carlie managed to catch Shelly and force her back into the basket as well, chattering angrily.

Ron retrieved Scabbers from under his seat, and sat back down moodily; putting Scabbers back in his shirt pocket. He muttered something like "crazy beasts," under his breath. Carlie wanted to say something in response, but thought better of it.

Carlie noticed a little while later that Lupin and Tim both looked very pale and ragged. She remembered faintly that the full moon was last night. Suddenly she realized that Lupin must have passed his… furry problem on to his son. She looked at him with sudden compassion, remembering quite clearly the suffering Allison used to go through at the full moon.

Carlie was pulled from her memories by the opening of the compartment door. She tore her eyes away from Tim to see a rather smug looking blonde boy with platinum blonde hair, and two incredibly ugly brutes enter the already cramped compartment.

Everyone else was glaring at them with distaste as the blonde spoke to Carlie. "Well, well, well. I don't believe I've seen you before. I'd say you're a Weasley, with all that disgusting red hair, but you're too well dressed…" His voice was cold and drawling, and she found him quite infuriating.

Carlie, Harry, and Ron all stood up. "I really don't think you should be hanging around Potty the Weasel. Why don't you come sit with us?" suggested the blonde boy, who Carlie had by now figured out was the infamous Draco Malfoy. "Harry is my twin, and I think I'm perfectly comfortable here, thank you," spat Carlie, in a voice that could've iced over Hell.

Malfoy looked taken aback. "_You _are related to Potter? I never would've guessed. Well, I suppose it's your loss if you want to keep strange company…" _What a complete ass, _thought Carlie with hatred.

"Who is _that?_" asked Malfoy, wrinkling his nose and gazing at someone behind her. Carlie didn't have to look to know it was Tim. "I'd say it was a Weasel with those fowl clothes, but he doesn't have the stupid red hair to match."

Carlie couldn't take it any more. It wasn't her fault that he was a spoiled, arrogant, bratty pureblood anyway. _Smack! _She slapped him hard across the face, and the resulting sound made everyone flinch. As Malfoy held his hand to his reddening face, Carlie whispered, "How dare you," in a voice unmistakably filled with malice and venom.

Malfoy glared in hatred, and as he opened his mouth to speak Crabbe and Goyle were cracking their knuckles ominously, but Harry cut him off. "Careful Malfoy, there's a teacher in the compartment. Wouldn't try your luck if I were you."

Malfoy glanced at Professor Lupin for the first time, and spoke in a whisper just audible enough for all of them to hear. "I'll see you losers at school," and with that he spun on his heel and left, taking his cronies with him. Hermione did not bother criticizing Carlie's actions. She happened to think that Malfoy deserved what he got.

An hour or so later the food trolley came by, and Carlie volunteered to stay and save the seats while the others went and got candy. Suddenly Tim stirred and moaned softly.

"Rough full moon huh?" asked Carlie quietly. At first Tim just nodded groggily, but after a moment he practically jumped off his seat, normally calm hazel eyes wide with fear. "How did you-? You didn't-?" He couldn't seem to speak properly. Carlie supposed he was in shock.

She smiled sadly and said, "I didn't have to read your mind Tim. One of my best friends was a werewolf; I remember the symptoms, you never really forget stuff like that." He was silent, and Carlie could tell that he was afraid that she would tell someone, so she said "I swear, I won't tell anyone about you and your dad."

Tim nodded in silent thanks, but then looked at her strangely, as if a strange thought had struck him. "Was?" he asked worriedly. "She was murdered," said Carlie in a soft whisper. "I'm sorry," was all he could say.

They both fell silent for a moment, and then Tim spoke up suddenly. "Her name, your friend I mean, was it Allison?" Carlie raised her left eyebrow, wondering how he knew that. "Yes, in fact it was. Did you know her or something?" Tim hesitated, but then shrugged and said, "That night when my dad and I woke you up… you kept saying her name, so I just thought that maybe that was it."

"I was dreaming about… about the night she was murdered," she confessed.

"You were there?"

"No, I-" Carlie found it hard to go on. She took a deep breath and continued. "The night she died I dreamt that I was there with her. I couldn't do anything to help her… It was right after the full moon so she was pretty weak… When I woke up I couldn't remember much about it, so I convinced myself that it was just a dream. Two days later her mom wrote to me, saying that Allison was dead."

Tim looked sympathetic, and was about to say something, when the others returned from the sweets cart, arms loaded with chocolate frogs and other delicious treats. "Hey guys. This is Tim, he's Professor Lupin's son. Tim, this is my brother Harry, and his friends Ron and Hermione," said Carlie, smiling automatically, even though she felt the complete opposite.

Suddenly the train started to slow down, and the sky outside turned dark.

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch. "Then why are we stopping?" asked Ron grumpily. Carlie shrugged and poked her head out the compartment door, and saw that many people were doing the same. Suddenly the train jerked to a complete stop. They were all jerked forward, and it was suddenly pitch black on the train. 

Adding to the confusion, two other people entered the compartment as they were all trying to untangle themselves.

"Who's that?" asked Hermione. At least, Carlie was pretty sure it was Hermione; she couldn't see a thing in the sudden darkness.

"Ginny," said a female voice that Carlie recognized from the Leaky Cauldron. She remembered that Ginny was Ron's little sister.

"Neville," said a high pitched, but defiantly male voice.

"Quiet," said a hoarse voice that Carlie recognized as Professor Lupin's.

In a moment the compartment was illuminated by shivering flames that Lupin was holding in his hands. "Hello Professor," said Carlie softly, with a grin.

"Shhhh," said Lupin harshly.

Carlie noticed that the whole compartment seemed to have dropped several degrees in temperature. She shivered, and instinctively moved closer to Tim. She saw a shadow appear on the door, and watched with growing dread as it slid open.

A tall, black cloaked figure filled the doorway, and Carlie just caught sight of its grey, decaying hand before it withdrew it back into the cloak. She could feel all the happiness draining out of her, and the world seemed to go white before her eyes.

Then she heard it. The terrible screaming that so often filled her dreams roared in her ears, and yet again she was forced to watch helplessly as Allison Bluebell died. The world started going black, and Carlie knew no more.

"Carlie? Carlie!" said an urgent voice. She opened her eyes, and saw Tim peering over her anxiously with his kind hazel eyes. Carlie sat up shakily, and after a moment she attempted to stand. When she started to fall Tim caught her and she leaned against him for a minute.

"Carlie, Harry, are you both ok?" asked Lupin with concern. "Yeah, I think so," said Carlie, smiling weakly. Harry nodded, not bothering to ask how Lupin knew his name. Carlie looked at him for the first time since waking up, and noticed that he looked as shaken as she was.

She looked around the compartment and saw that everyone looked paler than usual, including the two new arrivals, Ginny, who Carlie had met in Diagon Ally, as she was Ron's only sister, and Neville, a rather nervous looking boy with brown hair.

"You should sit down," suggested Lupin kindly. She sat down, wondering why she had slipped without warning into her familiar nightmare. She had relived it often enough at night, but nothing like that had ever happened to her during the day before.

"What happened?" asked Harry. "What were those things? And who was screaming?"

"Dementors," said Lupin, breaking up a chocolate bar in the process. "You passed out. Both of you did."

Hermione frowned at Harry. "No one was screaming."

"Yes, I heard it. Someone was screaming my name," said Harry in confusion.

Lupin interrupted by handing out chocolate to all of them. "The chocolate should make you feel better," he said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to the conductor."

"Why didn't anyone else pass out?" asked Carlie, voicing the thoughts that both her and Harry were having. "I don't know, but I got the chills when they came in here. It felt like I'd never be happy again," said Ron. They all nodded, except Ginny who was curled up in a ball on one of the chairs. "But none of you passed out," said Harry gloomily.

As the train started moving, Lupin reentered the compartment. "I didn't poison that chocolate you know," he said with a weak smile. Carlie took a bite, and instantly felt warmth spread through her again. Only then did she notice that she had been clutching Tim's hand. She let go, blushing bright red.

The rest of the train ride passed in silence, with each person withdrawn into his or her thoughts.

When they arrived Carlie couldn't help but marvel at the size of the castle, even though she had already seen it. The five of them hopped into an empty carriage (Lupin had taken a different one,) and as they rode up to the castle, Carlie wondered what exactly pulled the carriages.

As they walked up the steps to the castle, a cold drawling voice said from behind them, "Is it true Potters? Is what Longbottom says true? Did you really both faint?" There was malicious laughter in his voice, and as Carlie turned around she could see that he was enjoying his revenge very much.

"Shut up Malfoy," spat Carlie venomously.

"Is there a problem?" asked professor Lupin as he got out of his carriage. "No, err... professor," said Malfoy with obvious distaste. Carlie glared at him as he walked away.

"How do you know _him_?" asked Tim. Carlie made sure Lupin was out of earshot before replying. "We met on the train while you were asleep. He was saying some rather rude things so I took the liberty of slapping him for you," she said with a grin.

The Great Hall was beautifully lit, with chandeliers hanging in mid air, and as always, the ceiling looked like the sky, dotted with bright silvery stars. As Carlie sat down with the others, and listened to the opening speeches (apparently Harry's friend Hagrid was going to be the Care of Magical Creatures teacher this year,) she couldn't help but remember Seaside.

At Seaside they'd stayed in cabins, not dorms. They were nice cabins, to be sure, and Carlie had loved them. They were roomy, and there was plenty of space for her numerous posters on the walls.

They were also aloud to turn the walls any color they wanted, which meant that the cabin that Carlie, Nikki, Andrea, and Sarah had shared was painted with a strange mixture of dark greens, blues, purples, and black. The main dining hall was also outside, and if it ever rained the teachers just conjured up a roof for them.

Then there was the major fact that Seaside was on island in the Pacific Ocean. Which meant that most of its students surfed, and those who didn't were at least strong swimmers. The surfers themselves could for the most part conjure up waves if there were none.

Her thoughts drifted toward Nikki, Andrea and Sarah. The four of them had never spent more than two weeks apart, and now she might never see them again. And her foster parents… Carlie hadn't thought about how worried they must be about her. Come to think of it, she really hadn't thought at all. She'd just left. _Merlin, they must think I hate them, _she thought.

But at that moment the feast began, and though she had never tasted food so good, she found that she had lost her apatite. She tried to talk animatedly with the others, but she knew they could tell that her mind was somewhere else. Except for Ron of course, who was oblivious to everything.

When the feast came to a close, Dumbledore stood up and said, "I hope you all have had a good first night back. Miss Potter, I would like to see you in my office."

Carlie wondered with panic if Malfoy had told one of the teachers what happened on the train. She really didn't want to start off the year by being punished for something that she didn't even start. But Malfoy didn't seem like the type to run to a teacher, so what else could Dumbledore want?

"You want me to come with you?" asked Tim kindly. "Thanks, but I think I'll be alright," she replied.

As she walked down the corridor that led to Dumbledore's office, she wondered what awaited her behind the office door.

Carlie knocked on the office door, and she heard Dumbledore say "Come in." She took a deep breath, and opened the door. In an instant, someone enveloped her in a humungous hug. Someone Carlie had defiantly not expected. Nikki Black.

"Did you really think you were going to ditch me that easily?" asked Nikki when she finally released Carlie. She beamed into her best friend's face. "I hope not. I would've been rather disappointed if there hadn't been at least one kidnap attempt," she replied jokingly.

Carlie's gaze fell on her foster parents. Helen Firedrake's light blue eyes met her green ones, and she could see the pain and hurt of rejection behind her false smile. "I'm sorry," Carlie whispered quietly. "No, I'm sorry," said her foster mother. "We should've told you a long time ago," agreed Frank.

Carlie felt her eyes begin to water as she stepped forward and embraced them both. "We wanted to let you get used to being here before we came to see you," Helen explained after she released her foster daughter, who she had come to love as her own. "You know, give you some space." Carlie just nodded, at a loss for words with mixed feelings swelling inside her.

Helen went on in a rush, "Your parents would've wanted it this way, I'm sure of it. With you and Harry together I mean. But we didn't want to let you go. The older you got, the harder it was to give you up. We were kidding ourselves, thinking we could keep you from the truth forever. I'm sorry you found out the way you did, it was horrible, and I felt awful when I realized that we'd pushed you away."

Carlie looked at her, trying to keep the tears welling up inside her at bay. "I shouldn't have left without saying anything to you guys. It was stupid, and I know I must have scared you both to death, and I'm sorry. I love you. You're like my real parents, and nothing, especially not a little piece of paper, is going to change that."

The tears were flowing freely now, and Helen hugged her and stroked her hair comfortingly, the way she used to when Carlie hurt herself when she was a little kid. The torrent of tears subsided as quickly as they had come, and she stood in her foster mother's loving arms, feeling for all the world like nothing had ever changed. But she knew that wasn't so.

"We know this is where you belong," said Frank, looking down at her with understanding in his brown eyes. "But you're always welcome to come visit," put in Helen hurriedly. "Of course I will," said Carlie, surprised that after what she'd said they thought she'd really just leave them and never talk to them again.

Helen released her, and Carlie wiped the last tears from her face as she turned to Nikki, sensing that her friend wasn't only here to say hello. She should've been at Seaside by then anyway. What was she doing here? "Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked with mock seriousness. Nikki beamed, and the Firedrakes smiled as well. "This is my school," she said.

It took a minute for Carlie's brain to process that information for all it was worth. "You transferred to Hogwarts?" she asked in wonder. It really was too much to hope for that her best friend would end up spending the rest of her school days with her.

"It took me a while to convince my mom to let me come, but I was miserable without you so I managed to be quite… persuasive." By "persuasive" Carlie knew her friend meant annoying. "Anyway, since your foster parents were coming to see you anyway, they brought me up here with all my stuff. We wanted to keep my entrance quiet because… well, its kind of complicated…"

Nikki glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded encouragingly. "Swear you wont think of me any differently than you do now?" asked Nikki rather seriously. Carlie was pretty sure that Nikki was about to tell her about her father, but decided to keep her knowledge to herself for once.

"I swear on the life of Gerard Way, you will always be my best friend Nikki, no matter what you're about to tell me," she said instead. Swearing on the life of Gerard Way was a sacred act with Carlie and Nikki. If the lead singer of My Chemical Romance died, they both knew they'd probably die inside, at least for a couple weeks, so it was a pretty solemn oath to make, for them anyway. MCR was both of their favorite bands.

Nikki smiled a little; the Gerard Way thing went all the way back to the year before Seaside (they'd known each other even before school, their mothers were good friends). "My father is Sirius Black. That's why my mom didn't want me to come here at first. It's also why I didn't come up on the train; we wanted to keep my arrival as quiet as possible."

Carlie squeezed her hand comfortingly. "I'm not going to judge you based your dad, someone neither of us even know, when I've known you your whole life. I trust you more than anyone else I know, Nikki."

Dumbledore smiled down at the both of them. "That leaves but one thing to be done," he said, taking the sorting hat down from its shelf. "You need to be sorted, Miss Black."

Nikki seemed to know that this moment had been coming, because she didn't ask any questions. She plopped the hat on top of her head, expression unreadable, and it had hardly sat there for more than a few seconds before it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" No surprise there, Nikki was by far the bravest person Carlie knew.

Carlie hugged both of her foster parents goodbye, promising again that she would visit that summer, and the reunited friends walked to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Tim were all still in the common room waiting for her, but it was otherwise deserted. They all looked rather surprised to see Nikki walk in with her, and she couldn't help but grin at them.

"Hey guys," Carlie said brightly, as if nothing was different. "Who's that?" asked Ron curiously. "My best friend," she replied. "And since she is my _best _friend, you have to promise not to freak out when I tell you her name." They all nodded, curious to know what kind of name was supposed to make them "freak out." Nikki had remained as calm as usual through all of this, but Nikki could tell she was nervous. She could always tell what her friend was feeling.

"This is Nikki Black." This was obviously the last thing any of them were expecting to hear. But none of them looked angry, and that was the important thing. "Is- I mean are you really…" for once Hermione was at a loss for words. "Sirius Black's daughter? Yeah I guess I am. Doesn't mean a thing, I've never met him before in my life, and don't plan to," said Nikki, her voice naturally defensive, and her pretty grey eyes that were so like her father's dared them to contradict her. None of them said a word.

Breaking the awkward silence, Carlie said "Nikki and I have known each other like forever, and she's transferring to Hogwarts. She's going to be in Gryffindor with us." At first no one said anything; Carlie guessed they were still in shock.

"Cool," said Tim weakly. Carlie was pretty sure he was being sincere, and that the weariness was just the recent full moon getting to him. "Well, I suppose we should all get to bed," said Hermione. Then she gave Nikki a small smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts." Carlie couldn't help but notice that Harry and Ron hadn't said anything as she trudged up the stairs to get some sleep.

A/N: hope you liked! Please remember to leave me a nice review, because I worked really hard on this chapter!


	8. The Silent Treatment

Disclaimer: I don't own Hogwarts or Harry Potter; those are J K Rowling's wonderful creations.

Claimer: Carlie, Tim, and Nikki are all very much mine…. except their surnames, which are also Mrs. Rowling's.

A/N: Before we get started I would like to thank epAmy, who was my only reviewer for my last chapter (besides the crazy lady, but you review every chapter before I even publish it!). Also, I'm going to start switching around the pov's this chapter… hope it doesn't get to confusing! I would also like to say that I edited chapter seven for those of you who didn't see. Enjoy! AND PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Carlie and Nikki walked down to breakfast together. At first, no one seemed to notice them, and why should they? No one had heard about Nikki's arrival yet. But as they sat down, she felt several pairs of eyes follow them. She looked over to see Malfoy and his cronies glaring at her. As soon as they saw she was looking, Malfoy started doing a ridiculous impression of the Potters fainting. Carlie rolled her eyes and looked away.

She turned to Nikki, who was on her left next to Hermione, and asked "Music?" Nikki nodded her head with a grin. Music at breakfast was their tradition. Carlie really didn't need to ask. She pulled her music player out of her bag, and put the left earphone in her ear, and handed the other to Nikki, who put it in her right ear.

Soon they were both mouthing the words to "Dead!" by MCR. "You guys have that on really loud," said Hermione. Carlie almost snapped back, but remembered that she had been the only one besides Tim to talk to Nikki so far, so she simply shrugged.

"What are you guys listening to?" Tim asked from the other side of Carlie. "Dead! What else?" said Carlie. When Tim raised an eyebrow, Nikki said "Despite what you might think it's really good." Carlie handed him the earphones, and turned the volume down a little, since he wasn't used to the outrageous level that was the norm for them.

He listened for a moment, his face annoyingly unreadable. _Why is he shutting away his feelings like that? _Carlie thought. She was used to reading people books in a library, and it always irked her when someone's emotions remained a mystery. _I suppose it's partly my fault… I did read his mind after all. I broke his trust. I'll just have to win it back then. _

Tim took the earphones off, and handed them back to Carlie. "That's pretty good. Who is that?" "My Chemical Romance… MCR for short. They are our favorite band…. closely followed by Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters," Carlie started, and Nikki picked up where she left off. "Panic! at the Disco, Green Day," Carlie picked it up again, saying "Good Charlotte, The Plain White T's… we have a whole big long list."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and Tim smiled. "I've never heard of any of those," he admitted. The two friends gasped in mock horror, eyes widening comically. "Never?" Carlie gasped. "Ever?" said Nikki in a strangled voice. Tim shook his head meekly. The two girls exchanged glances, and broke out in identical evil grins. Simultaneously, they reached over and pushed the earphones into his ears.

Carlie's pov

As we argued over which songs to make Tim listen to first, I couldn't help but notice that Harry and Ron (who were sitting across from us) had not said one word, not even to Hermione. Harry kept chasing the food around his plate, with a stormy expression in his green eyes, and Ron hadn't eaten anything at all. They would glance up at Nikki occasionally, but when either of us looked they would hurriedly return their attention to their food.

_He's going to pay for this…_I thought grumpily to myself. _I don't get why he can't just give her a chance. I tolerate Ron and Hermione for Merlin's sake… Nikki deserves the same. _Nikki must've seen my expression face and glanced at Harry and Ron. "Don't worry, they'll get over it," she whispered in my ear. I nodded, but continued gazing moodily at my brother.

We weren't nearly done making Tim listen to music when the bell rang for our first class of the day. Nikki, Tim, and I walk to Arithmancy together, with Nikki and I berating Tim about which songs he liked the best.

"So what's your favorite subject?" Hermione asked Nikki suddenly from behind. We jumped in surprise, as we had all seen Hermione walk off with Harry and Ron to Divination. "Didn't you go to Divination?" asked Nikki, voicing all our thoughts.

"Oh, umm… I just remembered I have Arithmancy right now so I caught up with you that's all," she said lamely. I raised my left eyebrow, Nikki and Tim looked at her skeptically, but she ignored it.

"So what's your favorite subject?" she tried again.

Probably the worst conversation starter ever but she was trying. "Defense against the Dark Arts," Nikki replied politely. "Personally, I like Transfiguration," said Hermione.

Since that conversation was getting nowhere, I turned to Tim and said "So which song did you like best?" Tim looked thoughtful. "Well you made me listen to at least twelve. I'm really not sure. But I really liked Disenchanted, and Minority was good to," he said after a moment.

At that point we had arrived Professor Vector's room, and found seats toward the back. The four of us managed to squeeze into one table, and waited for the lesson to start.

Professor Vector was a very average looking woman, with mousy brown hair and light brown eyes. "Who can tell me what Arithmancy is?" she asked the class. Surprise, Hermione's hand shot in the air. "Arithmancy is the form of magic in which the future can be predicted with numbers." I thought I saw Nikki roll her eyes, probably dreading having to share a room with a "teacher's pet."

Not that Hermione was really a teacher's pet exactly, she was more like a workaholic if you asked me, but then again Nikki wasn't exactly in love with workaholics either. She'd get used to it, Allison had been like that to and they'd ended up the best of friends.

The rest of the lesson passed quickly, and then all of us walked to divination. When we got to McGonagall's room, I realized that Hermione had disappeared again. I looked all around, but didn't see any sign of her. I was about to ask the others if they'd seen where she went, but my jaw dropped as I saw her come around the corner with Ron and Harry. How had she done that?

Before I could ask, the door opened and we all went into Transfiguration. Nikki, Tim, and I sat down at a table, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat down at the one in front of us.

Most of the class seemed pretty subdued, as if something tragic had happened. No one looked in the least impressed when McGonagall transformed into a cat, and she asked the class what was wrong.

"We've just come from Divination Professor," began Hermione. _No you didn't! _I thought.

"Say no more Miss Granger, which one of you will be dieing this year?" she asked. Three fourths of the class looked over at Harry. "Me," he said.

"The you should know that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student every year since she came to Hogwarts. None of them has died yet, so you'll forgive me if I don't excuse you from homework."

After class I grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him aside. "We need to talk," I said. He looked like he knew what I was going to say (he should've, I'd been giving him the evil eye all morning,) and sure enough he said, "Her father's a murderer Carlie, what do you expect?"

I glared at him for a second before replying. "If Ron's dad suddenly decided to murder a street full of people, would you abandon him?" I asked coldly.

"Of course not, but that's different."

"No its not. If it were Ron and not Nikki you'd expect me to treat him the same as anyone else. How can you judge her on who her parents are? You haven't even taken the time to talk to her, you idiot. You don't even know who she is, and you automatically mark her as a threat because of the father she's never met. Grow up Harry."

I hadn't even raised my voice, but I could tell what I said had an effect on him. As I turned away, I saw his pain and remorse in his deep green eyes. But I wasn't about to let him off that easily. I ran and caught up with the others, taking my place walking in between Tim and Nikki. I had already decided I wasn't talking to him until he said something to her. The silent treatment always works. Always.

I didn't talk to him all throughout lunch, and I didn't talk to him on the way to Care of Magical Creatures either. Although I must admit that it was a very entertaining lesson. When Malfoy started harassing Hagrid about how he had given us biting books, Harry defended him, and I was tempted to join him until I remembered that we weren't talking.

Hagrid had gotten Hippogriffs, which were beautiful creatures with the heads, feet, and wings of an eagle, and the body of a horse. I watched Harry fly around the paddock on Buckbeak, and couldn't help but wish I was up there with him. If you don't recall, the sky is my home away from home.

And as a finale, Malfoy managed to get himself bitten by Buckbeak, and ad to go to the hospital wing. I knew that that meant trouble for Hagrid, don't get me wrong I felt bad for the guy, but having Malfoy's own stupidity literally bite him back rather satisfying.

Finally, classes were over, and Tim, Nikki, and I walked up to the common room without the others. We all had a ton of work to do already, so we decided to get our stuff and go down to the library.

We didn't really talk much at first, like I said we all had a lot to do, but eventually Nikki asked, "What did you say to Harry after Transfiguration?" I knew she knew the answer, but decided to tell her anyway. "I told him he needed to grow up and give you a chance."

Nikki frowned, and I knew she probably didn't want to be the cause of a fight between my brother and I. But there was no way in hell I was going to let him get away with treating her like that when he didn't even know her. It was wrong and all of us knew it.

"Who's your friend Potter?" asked the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment. I looked up, and sure enough, there was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Malfoy's arm was in a sling, but I knew he was most likely faking it. Madam Promfrey would've fixed his arm up I no time.

Before I could answer, or do anything really, Nikki said "Nikki Black, who wants to know?" I groaned inwardly. By tomorrow morning the whole school would know about Nikki's dad.

Malfoy's eyes widened. Ignoring her question he said, "Black? You're Sirius Black's _daughter? _And you're in _Gryffindor?_" Nikki's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So? Why does it matter who my dad was?" Malfoy looked shocked. Before he could say anything else, I cut in. "Don't you have something better to do Malfoy? Like go drown yourself in the lake maybe?" He turned to me, eyes glinting. "And you two are _friends?_"he asked incredulously. "Why do you care?" spat Tim.

I glanced at him gratefully before turning back to Malfoy. His eyes narrowed, and he said "You don't know do you? You don't know what her traitorous father did to your parents, do you?" I was about to retort angrily that I did, in fact, know what had happened all those years ago and moreover that I didn't care, but he just cackled, and turned away. His cronies followed him, laughing along.

"What does he mean?" asked Nikki in confusion. _Oh crap, _I thought. _She didn't know that? _I looked back at her, and I could see the pain and fear in her stormy grey eyes. I took a deep breath, before gently explaining the truth.

Nikki's pov

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. I hated my father. I hated him for what he did to Carlie's parents, and I hated him for making my life so damn complicated. If he really loved my mom and me, why did he go betraying his best friends, then murdering a street full of people, and getting himself thrown in Azkaban? _Because he doesn't love you. He only cares about Voldemort, _said a voice in my head. Was that true? Did he really not care? _You hate him, remember? You don't give a damn if he cares about you, _said the voice.

"It's okay Kiki," said Carlie, interrupting my thoughts by enveloping me into a big, warm hug. I smiled as I remembered the nick names we'd made up for each other when we were five. Kiki and Lele. They were lame, but we still used them occasionally. Carlie had a way of making you forget about your problems, maybe it was just because we were so close, or maybe it was a gift she had. Either way I was glad to have her as my best friend.

A little while later we headed back up to the common room. When Carlie saw Harry get up to try to talk to her, she just marched up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. _I almost feel sorry for the guy, _I thought. Carlie's silent treatments could be harsh.

I sat down on a chair near Hermione in the corner. She was nice, if a little prim for my taste. But hey, at least she cared. I dipped my quill in ink to finish my Transfiguration essay, and Tim took a chair beside me. I liked Tim a lot better than Hermione. He was nice, but not a total book worm or anything. And he was willing to sit through hours of music he had never heard before. I could tell Carlie liked him to. Probably more than I did. A lot more, if you catch my drift.

I saw Harry get up and walk over out of the corner of my eye. He stood by my chair, as if waiting for me to say something first. I sure wasn't going to say anything if he wasn't. "Hi," he said uncertainly. I looked up, raised my left eyebrow, and said "Hey." For a second it looked as if he thought I was going to continue, but when I didn't, he went on. "I'm sorry if I was a little… erm… rude earlier. I was being a prat." Finally, we hear some sense. Since he was already getting a hard time from Carlie I decided to be nicer than I normally would.

"That's okay… by tomorrow morning the whole school will be shunning me anyway, so it's just good to have another person on my side I suppose," I said. He looked confused, so I explained about what had happened in the library. Minus the part about what happened with daddy dearest and their parents, he didn't need to know that yet. Then he looked really mad, and muttered something along the lines of "Typical Malfoy," under his breath.

"Harry, if you look at it realistically, the rest of the school would've figured it out at some point. My only regret is that my destruction had to come at the hands of that particular idiot, who will use it unmercifully to make the rest of the damn school hate me."

Personally, I was rather impressed with that monologue, and Harry seemed to think so too, because he didn't have much to say to that. "Yeah… Would you tell Carlie I said sorry for me?" he asked. "Sure," I replied with a slight smile.

He really wasn't that bad, and he was trying pretty hard to make it up to Carlie… I kind of felt bad for him. Carlie's silent treatments were harsh; I'd watched a few before. Carlie is almost as short tempered as I am, and that's saying something. I have a long, sad history of tragedies that could've been avoided if I'd kept my damn mouth shut.

After finishing my essay, I said goodnight to Tim, Hermione, and Harry (but not Ron, he still hates me for some reason,) and climbed up the stairs to the girl's dorm. Part of the reason I had come up a little early was to talk to Carlie without the others girls here (like I said, Hermione's ok, but the two other ones, Parvati and Lavender, are annoying and way too girly,) and the other reason was I hadn't had time to decorate my space with the mountain of posters I'd brought.

"Hey," I said to Carlie, as I rummaged through my suitcase looking for my favorite poster of the California Aqua Quidditch team, the Sharks. Carlie glanced up from her work. "Did he say anything?" she asked. I smiled, she knew Harry had been feeling bad, so all she had to do was fan the flames a little more, so to speak, before he went insane with guilt and talked to me. Also, by not letting him say sorry directly to her, she knew he'd have to say it through me, thus forcing him to talk to me.

"Yeah, he came over and apologized. He told me to tell you he said sorry to you too," I said. Carlie grinned, and I rolled my eyes as I stuck my favorite mcr poster to the wall beside my bed. Carlie took great pride in being able to read people. She had told me about the whole mind reading thing a while ago, back before Seaside I think. I have to admit its pretty cool having a friend who can see people's emotions as plainly as I can see that the food at Hogwarts is delicious. Actually you can taste that… but you get what I mean, right?

A/N: okay, so this chapter was shorter than some of the others, but I wanted to get this up before Thanksgiving… please review!


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